The Pro: Antigravity Racing League, #2

By Rock Forsberg

He knew the life of a professional racer was hard, but he didn't expect to be dodging lasers and missiles.

Zane Silvering, the youngest professional racer in the Antigravity Racing League, competes with his powerful craft on vertigo-inducing rollercoaster circuits across the galaxy.

He signed up for the toughest racing in the universe, and in this season he has a new coach, who is more like an army drill instructor, and new teammates, who seem more like enemies. Soon Zane finds himself out of the racing lineup and at odds with his girlfriend.

To get a chance at the championship, he must navigate intergenerational power-games, use his flying skills in dogfights with killing lasers, deal with the shady women of his past and, of course, beat the best of the universe on the track.

When it all comes together, Zane must make a hard decision: how far is he willing to go?

If you like underdog stories, awe-inspiring galactic trekking, and high-adrenaline racing (think F1 in space), The Pro will keep you strapped to your seat until the finish line.

 

Buy The Pro now to secure your seat on the ride!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rock Forsberg
• Release date: Jun 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9789526978970

Book preview

1

AMERA

Zane’s back pushed hard against the seat of Kispeed Arrow One as he let his engines roar unencumbered. The engineering marvel under him whizzed over the winding metal track, entering sonic speed while hovering a mere three metres above the surface.

Their lap times in practice had put Zane into second place, on the front row with Martina Trudnak. She had a better start than Zane and took the lead before the first corner.

Zane’s wasn’t bad either, so he retained second place, tight on Trudnak’s tail, with Christian Avardeur tailing him. Joanna was fourth.

They would run a full race of forty laps, so anything could happen.

The ARL season 702 was about to begin, and merged teams Kispeed and Xorand had a live test run on the Amera circuit—Zane’s home race, and the one that had claimed his father’s life.

Now Zane raced for the spot in the racing line-up. The first race of the season would be on Fendra in just a few weeks. The first internal qualification, this race would put the racers in order as a precedent for the entire season with the merged teams.

Zane had but one goal. To win.

He raced with Joanna Locksloe, still the most popular racer in the whole league based on the media coverage. Her relationship with Matt Clay, part of last year’s winning team, Reckoner, had all the passion and drama the public craved, and with everything that had happened with her family, she was still the number one news item. Last season had been rough for her, but Zane knew she was a fighter and respected her on the track.

Together they were the favourites from the Kispeed side. The favourites from Xorand were Martina Trudnak and Christian Avardeur.

Christian was the son of Benno Avardeur, Xorand’s former owner. One of the top contenders, he was known as a hothead on and off the track. The sports network called him the Businessman, and Christian, loving the game, did everything to play the part. He made deals fast and piloted even faster. Last season he had finished second in the personal standings, losing only to Matt Clay. His partner, Martina ‘The Announcer’ Trudnak, was a living encyclopaedia of racing knowledge and one of the strongest women in the league.

In addition, from Kispeed’s side, the qualifying race included Kristy Ripperstop with Dorian Mut, and Shonda Shannan with Trent Hood, who had been their star during the last season until his accident, from which he was still recovering. And from Xorand they had Rez Husma and Cadera Celtenara.

Ten craft on the track was almost like an actual race. The Xorand racers piloted Xorand’s particular craft, which were heavier (and thus more powerful, but less nimble) than the Kispeed Arrows, but they, too, wore Kispeed colours. The intent was to engineer a new craft, one that combined the best of both worlds; that would take a while, however, so in this season, the plan was to use both craft.

In the league, every team provided two racers, one male and one female. If they arrived at the finish line in this order, he would race with Martina Trudnak. That wouldn’t be bad, but he wanted Joanna to be his teammate. It was a team sport, after all, so he would need to keep his spot and pull Joanna up. Then again, Trudnak could do the same with Avardeur, and because she had the lead, it would benefit him more.

Unlike most racing, the team scores mattered above all in the ARL, although the individual scores were a token of bragging rights. The teammates could talk to each other during the race for executing various tactics, the biggest one being the light tow. When both racers engaged the light tow, it would pull the slower one up on max speed with inertial dampeners protecting the pilot. It worked for just five seconds (with the maximum load) and could only be used once in a race. Often the pilots used it as a last resort towards the end of the race, shuffling the whole pack in the last few laps, but sometimes the leader used it earlier in the race to get their lagging team member into second place and block any attempts by the competition to overtake.

Zane had missed the sonic speeds of the ARL craft during his holidays; then it had been training, so this was his first race with real craft, no simulators, and he loved the fast-paced action.

They sped through the corners, following each other with margins so small that any mistake would have their shields sparkling against each other or the side railings.

Zane focused on intimidating Trudnak before him. The world around him disappeared as he yielded to the flow of tight corners, applied the spiral and yaw to optimise his lines, and changed polarities with clockwork precision.

Martina Trudnak was good, and she left him no openings. Often, she gained distance, which Zane soon got back. Zane had to find a weakness, but so far, he hadn’t seen one.

‘Yeah, that’s how we roll!’ Joanna’s voice shouted through Zane’s earphones, her image on the screens beside the Elodie pop-up. She had passed Avardeur and was now behind Zane.

‘Good work,’ Zane said. ‘Keep the Businessman behind, I’ll get the Announcer. Then I’ll pull you along and we’re the top two.’

‘Sounds like a plan,’ Joanna said. ‘Despite everything, I’ve a good feeling about this season.’

‘Will be the best one,’ Zane replied quickly as he had to focus on passing Trudnak. She had gained distance from him.

Zane had felt at home immediately when they began training, and the moves he had learned on the street scene during his break complemented his skills. He even toyed with the idea of winning the championship. Who would have thought that the Entrant from the middle of the last season would lead Kispeed to win this one? That was his goal, and that’s what he visualised every morning.

Again, he closed in on Trudnak. He was a better racer, and she knew it. He would stay close to her tail until she made that slight mistake that would cost her the race.

He noticed a spot where she braked too late and lost exit speed; it was a minor error, but potentially useful. After a few laps, she had established a pattern, and on the twenty-third lap, Zane deviated from his usual line to use it to his advantage.

He braked earlier. She didn’t. For a moment, the distance between them grew. Then, in the apex of the tight corner, they were close again, but Zane could accelerate earlier, and he did.

His gambit worked. On the following straight, Zane inched beside her and past, before braking to the next corner.

‘Woohoo!’ he shouted.

‘Good work, keep it up!’ Joanna said.

‘I’ll get some distance and pull you up.’

‘Patience,’ said a thick voice, and a moustached Yoonan man appeared on his screen: Tut Gammon, Kispeed’s head coach. ‘They’re experienced racers and their manager doesn’t seem worried at all; keep your wits about you.’

‘Who do you think I am?’ Zane said, as he flipped the polarity to red, and back to neutral in a second.

‘You’re our youngest racer.’

‘And the best,’ Zane said.

‘Perhaps. But don’t let it get to your head. There’s a third of the race to run.’

‘Got it,’ Zane said, and rounded the corner where a tall building had once stood. The corner would always remind him of the day his father had shot off the track and into the structure, a freak accident caused by the complete failure of standard safety mechanisms.

He reminded himself that he wasn’t his father, and that he had to focus. He gave his mind over to the blur of buildings, lights, corners, crests and… into the flow he lived for, the thrill of racing.

‘That was mean!’ Joanna shouted and woke him up.

Joanna had fallen not one but two places to fifth. ‘What happened?’

‘Avardeur passed me, pushed me with his spiral, and I hit the railing, but I’m all right.’

‘Pushed you with his spiral. How’s that even possible?’

‘That was new to me, a ninety-degree tilt… I’ll explain later. Now, let’s hit the tow before it’s too late.’

She was right. If she fell too far behind, even the light-tow couldn’t pull her up to second place, and Zane would have to race with Trudnak. She was a formidable racer, but Zane couldn’t stand her for longer than a few minutes; the woman kept on talking, talking, and talking. Also, Joanna was as good as her on the track, or better.

Zane entered the thirty-fifth lap. The other Kispeed racers had done all right; Dorian had climbed into fourth spot over Joanna, and Shonda was sixth. Xorand’s Rez Husma and Cadera Celtenara were coming in last—good news for the Kispeed racers.

He was about to ask Joanna if she could engage the tow, when he noticed Christian Avardeur had overtaken Martina Trudnak. ‘Is that some kind of team tactic they’re employing?’

‘Must be,’ Joanna said. ‘Martina let him pass without losing much speed.’

‘Clandvil isn’t giving anything away,’ said Tut. Ystance Clandvil was Xorand’s coach; it seemed his approach differed from Tut’s and they were headed towards a power struggle of their own. ‘But whatever the case, focus on your own racing, and get that tow going with Joanna.’

‘Got it,’ Zane said.

In a few moments, Dorian and Joanna flipped places in the standings. ‘OK, I’m ready,’ she said.

Following a blue field, Zane flipped the polarity to neutral, and slammed both red and blue buttons. Joanna had done the same, and a green light-line appeared, trailing behind Zane.

‘Love it,’ she shouted.

She passed Trudnak. But the light-tow’s energy faded before she could reach Avardeur.

Zane sighed. He hoped she would’ve gotten past Avardeur as well, to help him secure the win. But if the standings remained, Zane and Joanna would be the top pair for the first race of the season.

Avardeur showed no signs of giving up, though. Like a wasp, he buzzed behind Zane, giving him no room to breathe.

Zane tried to put his full focus on optimising the lines through corners, crests and jumps, but because Avardeur harassed him, he couldn’t, and had to concentrate on keeping him behind instead.

By the second-to-last lap, Joanna had caught up with Avardeur, but Trudnak was still trailing close behind her. Anything could happen, and that’s why he loved ARL—but not now when he was in the lead.

They were a tight pack again, just like in the beginning, but now in the order of Silvering, Avardeur, Locksloe, and Trudnak.

Then one of his fears came true: Trudnak passed Joanna.

‘What happened?’ Zane said, trying furiously to keep Avardeur from overtaking him.

She shook her head. ‘I don’t know, she just… She did well, dammit!’

Zane took a deep breath. There was nothing he could do to help Joanna. But at least if he won, he might have a say in who raced with him. That would have to do.

The standings changed again. In quick succession, Shonda passed Joanna, and Trudnak passed Avardeur.

What’s going on? Zane thought. It was the last lap.

Then a creeping feeling ran up his spine. Avardeur and Trudnak hadn’t used their light tow yet. Now in second place, close to Zane, Trudnak could pull Avardeur, and with them so close to each other, he would slingshot past her, and maybe past Zane.

The green light glimmered behind him. He gulped.

They neared the final straight. Martina Trudnak was so close that Zane could feel her presence through his engines. They rounded the last corner, and the main straight opened, too wide to block a fast-moving craft that appeared behind Trudnak’s and thundered past Zane’s before the finish line.

Avardeur won. Zane was second. Trudnak third. Shonda fourth, and Joanna fifth.

Zane hit the side panel. Avardeur and Trudnak had won. They’d be the racing pair. He couldn’t believe what had just happened. He had lost, Joanna had lost, and there was nothing he could blame it on, other than his competitors being too fast.

He had lost, fair and square.

At the pits, Zane stepped down from the craft and removed his helmet. He brushed his black, sweaty mess of hair off his face, and headed towards the others behind the craft.

Going into the race, he had been certain he’d get a position to represent Kispeed in Fendra, and his only worry was whether Joanna could make it. Now they were both out, but if he had learnt something, it was that he should swallow his pride. Once he might have gone blasting the opponent, but now he knew that wouldn’t help.

The racers gathered around the two coaches. Tut Gammon, Kispeed’s head coach, a scruffy bald Yoonan man with a thick moustache and the signature black leather coat, met Zane’s eyes briefly as he arrived. His expression said he had wanted Zane to win.

Joanna bumped Zane’s shoulder as they stepped towards the others. ‘That was a bummer; you know I competed in every race last season.’

‘We did so well, but then…’ Zane couldn’t find the words.

‘That’s ARL. It’s a reminder that you’re only as good as your last race.’

They approached the others. Christian Avardeur, a young man with spiky brown hair, maybe a few years older than Zane, spoke with the Xorand team coach. His face had an intense quality to it as he explained something.

Zane hadn’t met the Xorand coach before. He was an older Elandra man—tall and slender, with stylish grey and white hair pulled back in several knots. Dressed in a Kispeed coloured suit, he looked the complete opposite of Tut Gammon. As Zane and Joanna joined the group, Tut spoke and everyone quieted.

‘That was a good race, everyone. You’ve all met me, and now I would like to introduce the Kispeed racers to Ystance Clandvil, Xorand’s head coach.’

Ystance ran his eyes over Zane and his teammates, holding his chin up.

Tut continued, ‘He and I will work together to create a new plan for the team, and also work with you to make sure that you become the best racers you can be.’

Everyone nodded. Tut seemed serious, even more so than usual.

‘Thank you,’ Ystance said in a deep but melodic voice. ‘My background is in the Elandra Royal Guard where I trained fighter pilots, but for the past twenty years, my focus has been on high-performance sports coaching. My approach is simple, and I believe in values of strength, integrity, and selflessness. Those values are the solid foundation on which we build everything else.’ A smile visited his face, and he continued about his work with Xorand.

Joanna had served a stint in the Elandra Royal Guard before joining Kispeed. ‘You know him?’ Zane whispered to her.

‘He was there before my time, but his reputation remained…’

Tut shot a sharp eye at Zane and Joanna.

Ystance continued, ‘…Look forward to working with you. As top performers, Mr Avardeur and Ms Trudnak will be the representative racers, and I expect everyone else on this team to match or surpass their speed in the upcoming tests.’

‘That’s right,’ said Tut. ‘Good work, everyone. That’s all for today. Get ready to board Kispeed Crux by eight pm tomorrow.’

The pilots acknowledged this and relaxed to talking.

Tut stepped over to Zane. ‘Your thoughts about the race?’

Zane sighed.

‘I understand it wasn’t ideal, but you raced well. Let’s figure out how to get you to the championships; Fendra is a pass, but we should make the most of it.’

‘I guess,’ Zane said.

He had to remind himself that he was part of one of the premier racing teams in the ARL, something that just a year ago had been only a dream. But he had tasted the glory, and now he couldn’t remain a substitute. He needed to race.

‘Zane Silvering,’ Avardeur said with an intense gaze. He pushed a hand forward. ‘I’m Christian. Thoroughly enjoyed racing with you today. That was one of the most exciting races ever.’

‘Thanks,’ Zane said. ‘And congratulations on the win; you did well.’

‘You too,’ he said, and glanced back. ‘I have to go, but I will see you around the Crux—I hear it’s awesome.’

‘It is…’ Zane said, but Christian was already hopping away towards Ystance.

He left Zane wondering whether he liked the guy. He projected high levels of energy but seemed driven like a highly-strung robot. Zane wouldn’t let the nice exterior fool him. Avardeur was a teammate, but he was also a competitor.

Zane wouldn’t give up the number one spot at Kispeed like that. He would get it back. He had to get it back, and soon. But how?

He would seek guidance from the best.

The cool sea water dripping down his chest, Zane slogged out of the water, and over the smooth sand of Snow Beach, Dawnia’s best one. This was his last day on Amera before they shipped out on Kispeed Crux to race across the galaxy.

Elodie Harmen lay under the cover of a big red beach umbrella in a black and red bikini, reading.

She was a granddaughter to Love Harmen, who owned Kispeed along with the KI business empire. Zane still found it hard to believe she was his girlfriend, even though they had been living together in a fancy penthouse apartment throughout the off-season.

Zane grabbed the towel, set it on the sand beside Elodie, and lay down on his back.

‘You know,’ he said, ‘the purpose of the beach is to enjoy the sun and the sea.’

She continued reading for a moment, then turned to him. ‘There’s no single purpose.’

‘You sound like a spiritual leader.’

‘I mean it; for me, the sounds of the waves provide a perfect backdrop for focusing, and the slight breeze the perfect temperature.’

‘But we have the perfect temperature at home.’

‘It’s not the same.’

‘Under the umbrella, you miss all the sun.’

‘You have your father’s complexion. My father, while Human, is pale like a Zetramain.’

‘That is a good point,’ Zane said.

While they were both half-Human, half-Zetramain, Zane had inherited his father’s dark skin.

He turned onto his side. ‘What are you reading, anyway? You’re done with the business course at the university, aren’t you?’

‘I am going to be ploughing through the integration process with Huu Simmer, helping him pull all the parts together, and I kind of need to learn on the job. This is Rutheimer’s classic text about managing large-scale mergers.’

While Zane had mostly relaxed during his vacation time on Amera, Elodie had been busy preparing herself for the upcoming season. When Zane had resumed practicing, she had hooked up with Huu Simmer, Kispeed’s manager, to work as his right hand.

‘How’s the integration going?’

‘It’s a mess. But we have a plan. Some of the Xorand people are helpful, but some of them are making things difficult on purpose. The same with Kispeed. Everyone’s afraid that their jobs will be cut, and they’re trying to lock themselves in by any means possible. Like this guy in comms, who accidentally deleted the press contacts from the servers. Can you believe it?’

‘I can imagine,’ Zane said. Like him. He wasn’t being difficult on purpose, but because of the merger, he had to race for his spot, and now he had lost it.

‘People are weird,’ she said. ‘On Kispeed, because of my name, some people think I’m an all-powerful queen, and the others, because I’m a young half-Zetramain woman, think I know nothing about business. Especially the engineering department!’ Angry lines developed on her forehead.

It was a massive project, and just thinking about the complexity made Zane happy that he only had to worry about racing. But worry was a worry, nevertheless.

‘Let me know if I can help,’ he said. While he knew little about the engineering team, his race mechanics, the rowdy furry Cetsen, and the introverted ginger Human had won his trust. ‘Reffer and Greta are my friends.’

‘They’re not the trouble, it’s more the head of the organisation… but that’s just one thing we have to deal with,’ she said, and rolled onto her back. ‘What about you? Are you ready for the season?’

‘I guess,’ he said.

‘You don’t sound too excited.’

‘I am,’ he said, because he should’ve been. ‘No, I’m not. It’s the Xorand racers, and their new coach—’

‘Stop it right there. It’s the beginning of the season. You must deal with a racer and a coach. Big deal. That’s what you do as a professional racer, and you’re great at it. I need to manage everyone in these two organisations… that’s almost two thousand people!’

‘But it’s not the same. I have to win.’

‘Why do you have to win?’

‘Isn’t it obvious?’

‘No. I’m asking because it’s important.’

‘OK,’ Zane said. ‘If I’m losing against our internal racers, I’ll never get to race, and if I never get to race, I’ll never win the championship.’

‘You want to win the championship. That’s good. Why do you want it?’

‘I don’t know,’ Zane said. ‘I guess I’ve always wanted to be the ARL champion. Like my father was. A famous, and then perhaps a legendary, racer.’

‘Fame and status are illusions,’ she said. ‘What’s inside is real—do you want to be another Christian Avardeur, high on fame, empty on the inside?’

‘What do you know of him?’

‘He is my uncle, you know. My mom’s stepbrother, but still.’

‘Oh man, that’s bizarre.’

‘We’re a big family. But what I know of him is that he seems to be more interested in partying than racing.’

‘I thought he had an impeccable work ethic.’

‘Well, he has, in that he will do anything to win. That way, one might succeed for a while, but at some point, it will catch up to him… you alienate people who care about you, and for what? Believe me, I’ve seen it many times; I know rich kids from every category.’

‘I guess I’m not one of those?’

‘Not yet, unless we marry,’ she said with a grin. ‘But when I say a rich kid, I mean a young person with rich parents; I’ve created a four-field of my own.’

‘Sounds scientific. Tell me.’

‘First, we split them into heirs and rebels. Heirs are the conservatives who continue developing and protecting the family interests, whether it’s a business or something else. There are two kinds: fake heirs and true heirs. The true heirs do just what I described. The fake ones play nice until they have the power, and then do the opposite. Avardeur is a fake heir, believe me.’

‘OK, that’s interesting. Are you a real heir, then?’

‘No, I’m a rebel. A true one. True rebels take a publicly visible step away from the family and create their own path, shunning the support from their families. And the fake rebels are those who make it look like they’re on their own but are actually fully funded by their parents.’

‘Aren’t you then a fake rebel—’

‘No! I’m real,’ Elodie said with surprising conviction. ‘But that’s beside the point. When Avardeur’s façade crumbles, that’s when you have to be ready.’

For someone so beautiful and young—well, she was older than Zane—she was sometimes uncannily wise, like a prophet.

‘So, you recommend I just yield?’

‘No, you don’t understand… Your focus shouldn’t be on Avardeur or the result of a single race. Focus on what you can control. Focus on getting the best lap times. Focus on making yourself a better racer.’

He took a deep breath. She was right about the big picture. ‘But what if Avardeur doesn’t fail? What if I can’t beat him, and am stuck behind him for the rest of the season?’

‘You sound like some engineers I’ve met.’

‘Ouch,’ Zane said. ‘I get what you’re saying, but it’s a bit too philosophical. I need to beat him to get to race.’

‘Thinking about why you do things is critical. So is investing time in making yourself better. Shortcuts are an illusion. In the end, they only slow you down.’

Zane knew she was right, but her advice was hard to swallow. He had to train hard to grow as a racer but couldn’t wait on the side-lines for the entire season. Every race he missed took him further away from winning the championship. He needed a shortcut.

‘You chickening out?’ Dorian said.

‘No,’ Zane said. ‘I’m just choosing how to humiliate you.’

On their last day on Amera, Kispeed movers were dismantling their barracks, a set of interlocking capsules they used to build a temporary base of operations on the racetrack. They would haul them up to Kispeed Crux, just to build them again on the Fendra racetrack. This time, they also had Xorand’s similar set-up and had to make choices about what to keep. Most of the Kispeed barracks remained—they had the branding right—but some of the Xorand ones would be repurposed to extend what they currently had.

They had stacked the remaining capsules to wait for the buyer to pick them up. The capsules were designed as components, with multiple ways to connect them to each other and to the stabilising elements, so their sides had a mesh. And that mesh was big enough for feet, which meant one could climb it.

While Elodie thought Zane was too competitive, he was nothing compared to Dorian. The man wanted to compete at everything. And now he had challenged Zane to climb four stacked capsules. The first one to reach the top would win.

And Zane couldn’t say no to a challenge like that. He was light, and had become stronger in the past year, while Dorian, a sturdy Yoonan fellow, had the strength, but lacked the agility.

‘You sure about this?’ Shonda asked. ‘That stack is, what, at least fifteen metres tall.’

Dorian laughed,